Whataburger Restaurants LP officials said Friday that they wanted to assure customers that their burgers are not, nor have they ever been, made with finely textured lean beef.

The product, which garnered national headlines recently under the description “pink slime,” is made from the by-product of cattle, treated in ammonia and used as an ingredient in processed meat products. Other restaurant chains, including McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), Burger King Corp. and Taco Bell Corp., a unit of Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM), have all publicly announced they would stop using the product as an ingredient.

“In light of the recent concerns regarding beef products that contain ‘pink slime,’ we want our customers to rest assured that when they visit Whataburger they can expect to receive only 100 percent, USDA-inspected fresh, never frozen beef. Our beef does not contain pink slime nor does it undergo an ammonia-treated process,” Whataburger said in a statement.

“We understand that the quality of our food is what keeps our loyal customers coming back. As a 62-year-old family-owned company, we have focused on fresh, made-to-order burgers and friendly customer service since 1950 when Harmon Dobson opened the first Whataburger as a small roadside burger stand in Corpus Christi, Texas. That will never change.”

San Antonio-based Whataburger is a privately held restaurant chain with more than 700 locations in 10 states.

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